Aerosol analysis of residual and nanoparticle fractions from spray pyrolysis of poorly volatile precursors

The quality of aerosol‐produced nanopowders can be impaired by micron‐sized particles formed due to non‐uniform process conditions. Methods to evaluate the quality reliably and fast, preferably on‐line, are important at industrial scales. Here, aerosol analysis methods are used to determine the fractions of nanoparticles and micron‐sized residuals from poorly volatile precursors. This is accomplished using aerosol instruments to measure the number and mass size distributions of Liquid Flame Spray‐generated alumina and silver particles produced from metal nitrates dissolved in ethanol and 2‐ethylhexanoic acid (EHA). The addition of EHA had no effect on silver, whereas, 5% EHA concentration was enough to shift the alumina mass from the residuals to nanoparticles. The size‐resolved aerosol analysis proved to be an effective method for determining the product quality. Moreover, the used on‐line techniques alone can be used to evaluate the process output when producing nanopowders, reducing the need for tedious off‐line analyses. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 881–892, 2017     

Li2MoO4‐based composite ceramics fabricated from temperature‐ and atmosphere‐sensitive MnZn ferrite at room temperature

The first magnetic ceramic composites manufactured, using the room‐temperature densification method are reported. The samples were prepared at room temperature using Li₂MoO₄ as a matrix and MnZn ferrite with loading levels of 10‐30 vol‐% followed by postprocessing at 120°C. The method utilizes the water solubility of the dielectric Li₂MoO₄ and compression pressure instead of high temperatures typical of conventional solid‐state sintering. Hence, composite manufacturing using temperature‐ and atmosphere‐sensitive materials is possible without special conditions. This was demonstrated with MnZn ferrite, which is prone to oxidation when heat treated in air. Samples manufactured with room‐temperature densification showed no signs of reactivity during processing, whereas reference samples sintered at 685°C suffered from oxidation and formation of an additional reaction phase. The densities achieved with different loading levels of MnZn ferrite with both methods were very similar. Measurements up to 1 GHz showed relatively high values of relative permittivity (21.7 at 1 GHz) and permeability (2.6 at 1 GHz) with 30 vol‐% loading of MnZn ferrite in the samples manufactured by room‐temperature densification. In addition, pre‐granulation is proposed to improve the processability of the composite powders in room‐temperature densification.     

Fabrication and properties of composites from BST and polypropylene-graft-poly(styrene-stat-divinylbenzene)

In this work, ceramic–polymer composites were fabricated from barium strontium titanate powder (BST) and polypropylene-graft-poly(styrene-stat-divinylbenzene) (ER) using a twin-screw extruder. The compounding process was characterized by rheological measurements. The effects of volume loading of BST on dielectric and mechanical properties were investigated. The dielectric properties were measured as a function of frequency and BST loading. For example, the relative permittivity and loss tangent (tan δ) of the BST–ER composites at 1 GHz were gradually increased from 2.4 and 0.0001 to 28.5 and 0.0085, respectively, as the loading was increased from 0 to 50.5 vol.%. Stearic acid (StA) was used as a surface-modifier of the BST. With an approximate surface coverage of 83%, an improvement in processability and a slight increase of the permittivity was observed, while tan δ remained low. The excellent dielectric characteristics of these composites, with high permittivity and low tan δ, make them attractive novel electronic materials for high frequency applications.     

Moderate anisotropy in the electrical conductivity of bulk MWCNT/epoxy composites

Bulk aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube films and their epoxy composites were prepared and their DC and AC conductivity studied. Nanotube films of up to 2 mm thickness were grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Composites of nanotubes were made by infiltrating the films with a commercial epoxy. DC electrical resistivities in the axial direction of as-grown and purified films were found to be ∼1.2 Ωmm and ∼3.4 Ωmm, respectively. For the transverse direction the resistivity values were higher only with a factor of ∼2. In the case of composites, anisotropy is more pronounced showing more than an order of magnitude higher resistivity in the transverse direction (∼71.4 Ωmm) as compared to the axial value (∼4.2 Ωmm). AC behavior of the films investigated between 1 MHz and 3 GHz shows the presence of inductive and capacitive components at frequencies above ∼100 MHz. The moderate anisotropy for both DC and AC electrical properties are explained on the basis of the films’ structure combined with percolation theory and equivalent circuit models.     

Neocortical Disconnectivity Disrupts Sensory Integration in Alzheimer's Disease.

The cortical pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) should lead to the loss of effective interaction between distinct neocortical areas. This study compared 2 conditions within a single sensory integration task that differed in the demands placed on effective cross-cortical interaction. AD patients were impaired in their ability to bind distinct visual features of a stimulus when this binding placed greater demands on cross-cortical interaction (i.e., motion and color) but were not impaired when this binding placed lesser demands on such interaction (i.e., motion and luminance). In contrast, neurologically intact individuals and patients with Huntington's disease were able to effectively bind features under both conditions. These results provide psychophysical support for the presence of functional disconnectivity in AD and demonstrate the utility of AD for investigating the neurocognitive substrates of sensory integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of precipitation on initial high-temperature oxidation of Ti–Nb stabilized ferritic stainless steel SOFC interconnect alloy

Oxidation phenomena on Laves phase forming Ti–Nb stabilized ferritic stainless steel (EN 1.4509) were studied at 650 °C by electron microscopic and electron spectroscopic methods. These investigations reveal a strong competition between Nb and Si for interfacial oxidation at the oxide–metal interface that is affected by different segregation rates of Nb and Si at elevated temperatures. In particular, formation of Si containing Laves (FeNbSi)-type intermetallic compounds in the bulk results in non-uniform distribution of Si oxide at the interface. This has direct implications to the electrical properties of this alloy in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications. Furthermore, these results provide better understanding to the controversial role of second phases (e.g. Laves, chi) on high-temperature oxidation (as recently discussed by Dae Won Yon, Hyung Suk Seo, Jae Ho Jun, Jae Myung Lee, Do Hyuong Kim, Kyoo Young Kim in Int J Hydrogen Energy 2011;36:5595–5603).     

Improvements and Modifications to Room‐Temperature Fabrication Method for Dielectric Li2MoO4 Ceramics

Dielectric properties of lithium molybdate disks fabricated by moistening water‐soluble Li₂MoO₄ powder, compressing it, and postprocessing the samples at 120°C, were improved by the optimization of powder particle size, sample pressing pressure, and postprocessing time. It appeared that the postprocessing temperature of the Li₂MoO₄ ceramics could be chosen so as to be applicable to the associated integrated materials as long as the postprocessing time was adequately adjusted to ensure the removal of the residual water. In addition, the dielectric properties of Li₂MoO₄ ceramic were modified with an inclusion of suitable additives. For example, at 1 GHz the relative permittivity of Li₂MoO₄ disks fabricated at room temperature and postprocessed at 120°C was increased from 6.4 to 8.8 with an addition of 10 vol% of rutile TiO₂ and to 9.7 with an addition of 10 vol% of BaTiO₃. At the same time the loss tangent value increased from 0.0006 to 0.0014 and to 0.011, respectively.